The Social Brand: Transform Your Brand to Win in the Social Era (Paperback or Softback)

“The definitive guide to building powerful brands in today’s social era—written by a true industry expert.” Nader Tavassoli, Professor of Marketing, London Business School and non-executive chairman of The Brand Inside

The new marketing manifesto of today’s social era. A book that doesn’t paper over the cracks of your marketing strategy (by rushing to social media platforms), but tackles the root issue and challenges and guides you to become what you need to be to succeed in this era: social.

Within a single decade, the media landscape has fundamentally changed, and with it the way people interact with each other and with brands. Social media has emerged from its infancy—but businesses are still struggling to adapt.

The Social Brand will unlock your brand to be successful in the social era. It shows how large or small companies, nonprofits, and other organizations should stop asking themselves the wrong questions, like: “Should I be on Twitter, Vine, or Snapchat?” “How do I need to talk to people on Facebook and Instagram?” It demonstrates that it’s not (just) about shifting budget to these new platforms or creating a “social media strategy”—it’s about creating a Social Brand.

“In order to be social, you have to give people something they truly value. If you do, they will want to seek it out and share it with others.”

This way social media isn’t just another media channel to drive your message home in; it’s an environment in which you can engage in a social relationship. To demonstrate how this works, the book introduces the concept of the Brand Bank Account. This new marketing framework identifies a simple four-step plan that will enable brands to become social at the very core of their business. It identifies what are brand deposits and what are withdrawals, and shows that the more deposits you make—the more you give to your customer—the more loyal he or she will be.

• The book challenges old “taking” forms of marketing and beliefs; it demonstrates why we should no longer use “positioning statements” and words like “consumer” or “target audience”.

• The book explains why most traditional advertising ends up being a withdrawal from your brand’s bank balance, and it’s chockablock with inspiring giving forms of marketing.

• The book inspires and guides you to resolve the two areas business struggle with most: social media and corporate social responsibility.

• Through extensive research of more than 250,000 people on products and brands, the book reveals a way to increase your brand’s likeability by 20% when you define a clear and credible brand mission and keep it close to your product.

“If you work in marketing and still use words like consumer, target, and audience, then you need to hurry up and buy this book. It might just save your job.” Paul Kemp-Robertson, Co-founder, Contagious

“Huib’s unmatched background, including leading roles at Unilever, MTV, and Red Bull, give him a unique, industry-leading perspective on marketing in the digital age.” Patrick Kalotis, head of marketing, Pepsico

Huib van Bockel is a digital marketing and media thought leader, writer of The Social Brand and former Head of Marketing Red Bull.

From 2006-14, he was Head of Marketing for the Netherlands, UK and Europe at one of the most admired brands in the world: Red Bull. Here he played a key part in the transition from an energy drink business to the media business it is today. Van Bockel led many of Red Bull’s largest projects including Red Bull Revolutions in Sound, Red Bull Air Race Ascot and Danny Macaskill’s Imaginate. In the UK he helped pioneer the current set-up of the Red Bull Media House, launching a magazine, TV channel, and significantly helped grow the digital and social presence of the Red Bull brand.

He started career as a management trainee at Unilever where he received 6 years on the job expertise and training. He then moved to MTV Networks and gained invaluable experience in traditional and new (social) media, and was responsible for one of the worlds first social networks.

Huib van Bockel is also a sought after speaker. He can be booked through the London Speaker Bureau.